Benefits and Places to Help You Outsource With Virtual Assistants
I was checking out some articles on outsourcing and I found this original one from GAIL EISENBERG at the New York post, which I have linked up.
I’ve made some additions/modifications to it, so if you want to see the original, just hit the link above.
As you may know, partnering with a virtual assistant may not be for everyone. Here are some things to consider before opting in for outsourcing as well as some great benefits for hiring a virtual assistant.
* Getting personal: If you’re squeamish about handing over personal information like user IDs and passwords, you may want to think twice about using a VA, or at least limit any personal tasks you hand out. But when you use Filipinos, I’ve found you can trust them with ALL your personal data and they protect it with their life. One of my friends has his team buying stuff for him with his credit card, all the time. Remember, Virtual Assistants want JOBS
* Tech issues: You may have to familiarize yourself with programs like ClientSpot or Skype in order to pay and communicate with your VA. Using tools like xoom.com to pay your VAs in the Philippines is easy. Biggest hurdle is that you may be an inexperienced marketer, trying to find a VA to do your internet marketing work. But, you don’t know enough yet to know if what they do for you is working or HOW it works. My suggestion is… FIND OUT… Work your butt off getting knowledge and stay laser beam focused on learning a technique. THEN pass it off to your VA as you’ll have a better idea what it’s supposed to do.
* Time investment: You’ll have to spend some time filling out request forms and signing agreements. You’ll also have to train your assistant, and there will likely be a learning curve before you get your work rhythm down. One of the best ways for training your VA’s is to let us do it for you. We have several trainings in my Train My Money Maker product. We only sell this via webinars.
* Language barrier: You’ll need the time and patience to be extra clear about your expectations, and keep in mind that slang or shorthand might be lost in translation. When you use Filipinos, they speak pretty good English. Most are totally fluent in writing and some in speaking.
* Time difference: Your VA may not be at your beck and call. If you need someone who’s available during US business hours, make sure he or she can accommodate you. The Philippines is 14 hours ahead of where I live in the USA. I stay up at night from 7:00 pm to 1:00 am working with my team, answering questions and delegating assignments.
Some useful sites
* International Virtual Assistants Association (ivaa.org) allows you to post a free “request for proposals” outlining your needs, to which VAs can respond. Prices might be higher depending on where you end up getting your VA from.
* Find Virtual (findvirtual.com) offers a virtual assistant directory that you can search according to criteria like pay rate and skill set.
* Alltop (Virtual-Assistant.Alltop.com) is an aggregator of virtual assistants’ blogs and Web sites.
* Assistant Match (AssistantMatch.com) is an agency that, for a fee, connects clients to assistants who’ve been screened and background-checked.
* Ask Sunday (asksunday.com) is one of the largest virtual assistant agencies. Others include Elance.com, GetFriday.com, Brickwork India (b2kcorp.com) Odesk.com, Freelancer.com and DoMyStuff.com.
* See my www.freeoutsourcingcd.com site for more information about outsourcing and hiring Virtual Assistants where I answer the top 17 questions that my students have asked me.
Hiring virtual assistants will really help you many the “tyranny of the urgent” stuff that you do each day as an entrepreneur, from mundane tasks, personal assistant work, and doing online marketing work for you.
Having an SEO company like the Minneapolis SEO Experts Trafficmills.com is also useful in doing all your SEO and SEM work.
